Home Insecurity
Home Insecurity is the third episode in the first season of The Venture Bros. Storyline Baron Ünderbheit, iron-jawed ruler of Ünderland, receives updates on the nation's status from his trusted advisors Catclops, Girl Hitler and Manic Eightball. After their status reports, Ünderbheit informs them that each of them has betrayed him (and therefore the country). The usual price for such treason is death -- but the Baron claims to have mellowed and will allow them to leave Ünderland peacefully. As a parting gift, he gives each of them tiger balm and leaves the room. The recipients are somewhat puzzled but relieved; suddenly, three tigers leap into the room and attack them. Strapped to the belly of each cat is a blinking box, which Girl Hitler finally realizes is a "tiger bomb." Strutting down the corridor, Ünderbheit detonates the explosives and informs his manservant that he has only one objective left: the destruction of Dr. Venture. At the Venture compound, Brock is packing for his annual vacation. Venture pleads with him to wait a few more days until he can complete the compound's security system, but Brock is unsympathetic. He appoints Hank "man of the house" in his absence and drives off in his Dodge Charger. Nearing his camping destination, he is stopped by an armed soldier who informs him that the area has been closed for reasons of national security. Brock presents his identification to the soldier's amazement; Samson is considered a legend. Unimpressed with the guard's adoration and weak protests, Brock proceeds to his planned campsite. That night, Venture falls asleep at his workbench. H.E.L.P.eR. finds him and carries him lovingly to bed. Returning to the lab, the robot notices the plans Venture had been working on: a new security construct named G.U.A.R.D.O. Assuming that the new project is intended as a replacement, H.E.L.P.eR. packs a few possessions and leaves the compound in "sadness." Brock's peaceful evening by the campfire is disturbed by rustling noises nearby. He hurls his combat knife into the bushes and is rewarded with the sounds of something fleeing. He tracks the intruder until he finds a tall, hairy, humanoid creature and engages it in hand-to-hand combat. Suddenly a man in a track suit leaps from a nearby tree and throws Brock with surprising strength. Realizing that the newcomer must be bionically augmented, Brock kicks him in the still-natural testicles. Back at the compound, an Ünderland agent releases a scorpion into Venture's bedroom. Simultaneously, one of The Monarch's henchmen gingerly drops a tarantula into another window of the same room. The two underlings spot each other and start arguing; Venture wakes up to find two venomous creatures fighting inches from his face and slaps a button on his nightstand. Steel shutters close over every door and window in the complex while Venture and his two sons are dropped into a reinforced panic room. Still dazed at the rude awakening, Hank sees the spider and scorpion still crawling on his father; he grabs a fire extinguisher and smacks Venture in the head with it in an attempt to kill the arachnids. While Hank applies a tourniquet to his father's neck, Dean exits the room to look for a first aid kit but encounters G.U.A.R.D.O. The massive robot, featuring a video screen in its chest displaying Venture's face, warns Dean that he is an intruder and chases him back into the panic room. Venture awakens and explains that he fell asleep before programming G.U.A.R.D.O. to distinguish friends from foes. They are temporarily safe, since the door is made of tempered steel, but the robot is constructed of the same material. Brock listens sympathetically to the track-suited man, who explains that he is former astronaut Steve Summers. A horrible accident left him gravely injured, but the government saved his life by grafting bionic parts worth six million dollars onto him -- and then expected him to repay the cost of the operation. Rather than spend the rest of his life doing the government's dirty work, he fled into the wilderness where he met Sasquatch, who became his domestic partner. The group suddenly hears troops nearby searching for Summers; Brock agrees to help them escape and abruptly breaks off one of the bionic man's mechanical arms. The henchmen continue to argue over who gets to kill Venture until one of them suggests calling their respective bosses. They call a truce while The Monarch invites Ünderbheit to his cocoon headquarters to work out a compromise. After the ceremonial attempts on each other's life, the two villains begin discussing who should retreat. Their lackeys, who have grown bored while waiting for instructions, begin drinking beer together and discussing their respective bosses. Driving away from his campsite, Brock is stopped by the same soldier. He indicates his passengers and explains that he is giving a couple of Vietnam vets a ride home. Still awed by Brock's presence, the soldier lets him pass; a second soldier berates him, pointing out that the "vets" were a shaved Sasquatch and Summers wearing a wig of Bigfoot hair. Safe for the moment, Summers thanks Brock for his help and says that they will travel to Canada where Sasquatch "has family." Brock grunts in acknowledgement, still disturbed by his discovery that Sasquatch is male (while shaving him). The gathered henchmen trade stories, get progressively more intoxicated, and generally bond with each other. Their restlessness and drunkenness win out as they decide to subject the Venture compound to childish vandalism. Just outside the fence, H.E.L.P.eR. stands at a bus stop and ignores Venture's pleas for help. The boys realize that the robot's feelings may have been hurt and persuade their father to apologize. Finally swayed, H.E.L.P.eR. attempts to plug into the compound's security system but accidentally shorts out the power for a few seconds. This is sufficient to "reboot" G.U.A.R.D.O., who finally stomps away from the panic room door. As the steel shutters raise, the security robot spots the rampaging henchmen outside and begins attacking the newly-found intruders. At long last, The Monarch and Ünderbheit reach an agreement: they will cooperate and share the glory of killing their mutual enemy and ignore the protocol of The Guild of Calamitous Intent. None of their henchmen respond to their calls, however. Back at the compound, dozens of uniform-clad bodies are sprawled in the aftermath of obvious violence. Brock pulls up in his Charger and, distracted by the carnage, hits G.U.A.R.D.O. and disables it. After the ending credits are displayed, H.E.L.P.eR. stands outside the panic room, blocking Venture and his sons from leaving until they apologize further. Quotes *'Hank:' Yeah, but did you get the first aid kit? Dr. Venture: I don't need first aid, Hank, I need you to stop choking me and hitting me with fire extinguishers. *'The Monarch:' What is this, diet? Why did you get diet? Dr. Girlfriend: I didn't. The Monarch: Taste this, then! Dr. Girlfriend: Okay, I might have grabbed the wrong bottle at the supermarket. The Monarch: How do you do that!? How can you not tell the difference?! God, it's like having my Dad do the shopping! *'Brock:' Bionic, huh? Let's see how bionic. (he kicks Summers in the testicles) Steve Summers: (in agony) Ooof... right in my Cape Canaverals! *'Steve Summers:' They put me to work, they expected me to pay it all back! Do you have any idea how long six million bucks takes to pay off on a government salary? *'The Monarch:' Venture and I have been engaged in a deadly game of cat and also-cat for years! *'Steve Summers:' What are you, shy? Sasquatch doesn't have anything you haven't seen before. Brock: Sasquatch is something I haven't seen before! *'Dr. Venture:' What the hell are you smiling about? Hank: (dreamily) Brock said, while he's gone, I'm the man of the house. Dr. Venture: (annoyed) Oh, so now you are a BIG MAN, now huh? Hank: (uneasily) Uh, no... sir? Doctor Venture puts up his dukes and steps menacingly close to Hank Dr. Venture: I knew this day would come. Think you can take your old man, don't you? Well, come on, tough guy! TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT! Trivia *Dr. Venture mentions that G.U.A.R.D.O. stands for something, however, the acronym's expansion is never mentioned. *This is the first major appearance of Numbers Twenty-One and Twenty-Four, the two recurring henchmen of the Monarch. Since they appear in later episodes, they are presumably the only ones who escaped G.U.A.R.D.O.'s wrath. *Steve Summers is a parody of Colonel Steve Austin from The Six Million Dollar Man. His name comes from a combination of Steve Austin's first name and the last name of the Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers. Several episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man featured a sasquatch, who was an ally of Austin. *Dean and Hank both sport Underoos, a line of children's underwear that first became popular in the 1980s. Dean wears a Spider-Man pair while Hank wears an Aquaman pair. Both characters wear these Underoos in several subsequent episodes. *The orb that Ünderbheit hurls at The Monarch (from which a hook-like projection extends) is reminiscent of weapons (called Sentinel Spheres) from the movie Phantasm. *Baron Ünderbheit explains that he lost his jaw in a lab accident where he was partnered with Dr. Venture. The episode "Past Tense" shows Ünderbheit, jaw intact, inhabiting the same college dorm as Venture. *This episode firmly establishes Ünderbheit as an homage/parody of Doctor Doom, from his dictatorial rule of his home country to his disfigurement which he blames on a college rival who is now his archenemy. *The music Brock listens to while driving is meant to resemble that of Led Zeppelin. There are several "Zep" references in the series, primarily revolving around Brock's love for the band. *When Dr. Venture reminisces about how much a help H.E.L.P.eR. has been, one of the scenes (where H.E.L.P.eR. hugs Brock) is from the episode "Mid-Life Chrysalis," which aired after "Home Insecurity". *After H.E.L.P.eR. saves the day (however inadvertently), the boys chant "Go Team H.E.L.P.eR.!" which is obviously a variation on their usual "Go Team Venture!" Their hand-signal, fittingly, changes from two V signs touched together to a rough "H" formed by connecting their extended index fingers while their thumbs point upwards. *Publick mentioned in his LiveJournal a "lost commentary" for this episode, which was cut from the season one DVD primarily due to lack of space. The audio track can be downloaded separately. *Doctor Venture seems to be convinced that Hank harbors a Freudian compulsion to defeat him. This is part of the Oedipus Complex, in which the male child seeks to kill or dominate his father so he can act on lustful feelings for his mother. Ironically, Hank lacks a mother, and therefore a reason for such a motive. Category:The Venture Bros. episodes